Joshua Tree National Park

Decided to head to the Joshua Tree National Park this morning. We took Rt. 10 to the Cottonwood entrance, the southern side of the park. We intended to drive through to the northern side. It was extremely windy and we had to hold onto our hats if we exited the car. We drove to the visitors center and learned the drive through the park was quite a bit longer than we expected. I told Peg we needed to get more gas in the car to make that drive. We almost abandoned the trip but we came across a gas station a few miles down highway 10 so we filled up and headed back to the entrance.

It was worth the drive! The park is in the Mojave Desert and on the south side of the park, where we entered, flowers were blooming. They do not bloom for a long time so we happened to be there at the right time. And, speaking of blooming, the Joshua trees were also in bloom and this is cyclical as well. Peg got a nice photo of a Joshua tree in bloom.

As we drove through the park, there were many places to stop and see different rock formations and other unusual things at Joshua Tree. As you drive, you increase in altitude and sometimes, the only way you know this is when your ears constantly "pop". We stopped to see Turkey Flats which encompasses three areas, desert sands (closest to the road), alluvial dunes (in the open areas) and sand dunes (closest to the mountains).

Another stop was at the Cholla Cactus Garden where you could take a 1/4 mile hike through the fuzzy looking Teddy Bear cactus plants. A word of caution...They may look all fuzzy and soft but if you touch one, you will find out differently! The spines will stick you and it is very difficult to get them out since, once they stick to you and you try to pull them out with your other hand, they stick in that hand as well. Best thing, keep your distance.

Next on our travels through the park was Arch Rock and Skull Rock (pictured here). The rock actually looks like a human skull! It is very large, which you can not ascertain with the photo. We then saw Jumbo Rocks and, you guessed it, they were really LARGE! We had to take a dirt road about 1/2 mile to get the full effects of these boulders. There were camping sites among these rocks at different points in the park. The sites were not big enough for our 40 ft. motorhome, but smaller units were found in many of the sites.

Another side road took us to Keys View, the highest point in Joshua Tree. Even though the day looked quite clear, the view showed a smog or foggy view of the valley. From here you can see the San Andreas Fault, Palm Springs and the San Juacinto Mountains. The wind was so strong up there that I walked to the lookout area, took two pictures and felt uncomfortable enough to quickly come back down!

Along the road were forests of Joshua Trees. It was a pretty cool looking site. We stopped and took several pictures. It was interesting the way the trees went up to the surrounding hills and mountains. At this point we were through to the other side of the park and we took Rt. 62 back to Desert Hot Springs where the windmill farms were located, then back to Indio. It was a long day, but well worth the trip through Joshua Tree....